大學生在電腦輔助語言自學中心之自主學習與學習方式
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2013
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藉由提供學習者可自由運用的教材，電腦輔助語言自學中心被視為培養學習者自主性的工具。好些研究調查學生觀感、學習策略使用、來訪自學中心頻率與其自主性發展的關係，但探討學習風格對自主學習潛在影響的研究卻寥寥無幾。
本研究藉由長期觀察第二外語學習者在電腦輔助語言自學中心的自主學習，針對此議題提供更多實證並進一步檢視學習風格和自選式學習的相關程度，學習軟體的選擇、來訪自學教室的頻率等皆為探討之要素。研究對象為非英語系之大一學生：1,579名來自2010年第一學期，1,265來自2011年第二學期。學生須填寫一份十題的線上問卷，評量他們當次於自學中心所使用的軟體。每學期末，學生另須填寫一份二十三題的問卷，評量他們在自學中心的整體學習。此外在2011年第二學期末，440位學生自願填寫一份三十題的學習風格問卷。除了量化資料，質性資料也經由助教隨機訪談三十八位來自2010年第一學期的學生與三十二位來自2011年第二學期的學生中收集。
結果發現：由於舒適的環境、豐富的資源、個人化學習的可行性，第二外語學習者對於在自學教室學習英文抱持正向態度。學生亦指出他們在聽力、口說、閱讀、寫作、單字、批判性思考、評量技巧、西方文化理解等各面向的進步，其中又以聽力理解的進步最為顯著。觀看有字幕的電影是多數學習者練習英聽的主要管道，正因為看電影讓人放鬆且寓教於樂，學習者最常使用也最喜歡的學習軟體就是多媒體資源。接著，皮爾森相關分析與克瓦二氏檢定則用於探討自主學習和學習風格的關係。整體而言，大學生的學習風格並未對其在電腦輔助語言自學中心的自主學習造成顯著影響。學習者的學習風格與其英文程度和來訪自學教室頻率之相關均未達顯著。此外學生的性別、科系背景、軟體選擇皆未和特定學習風格達到顯著相關。
It is believed that self-access centers (SAC) serve as the best-known vehicle leading learners to autonomy by providing materials they can use on their own. Some studies investigated students’ perception, strategy use, and frequency of visit in relation to their autonomy development while few explored the potential influence of learners’ learning styles on their autonomous learning in SACs. The present study aims to suffice for the longitudinal observation of adult EFL learners’ autonomous learning in a CALL SAC and examine the extent to which learning styles correlate with their self-access learning, in terms of their program choices, frequency of visits, etc. Participants included 1,579 and 1,265 non-English-major freshmen from fall semester 2010 and spring semester 2011 respectively. They were required to fill in a ten-item online survey to assess the learning program they just used after each visit. At the end of each semester, they had to fill out a 23-item questionnaire to generally evaluate their learning in the SAC. Moreover, 440 students voluntarily took a 30-item learning style questionnaire at the end of spring semester 2011. Aside from quantitative data, qualitative data was also collected by interviewing 38 students and 32 students randomly selected by the SAC assistants from each semester. Findings showed that adult EFL learners held positive attitude towards acquiring English in the SAC, owing to its cozy environment, abundant resources, and feasibility of individualization. Participants also reported their improvements in listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, critical thinking, evaluation skills, and western culture enhancement. Among them, betterment of listening comprehension was the most cited language gain and watching movies with subtitles appeared to be the principle mode for most learners to polish their listening in a rather relaxing and entertaining way. The most frequently-used and favorite learning program selected by those SAC visitors was accordingly the multimedia resources. Later, Pearson correlation and Kruskal-Wallis test were applied to probe into the relationships between autonomous learning and learning styles. On the whole, college students’ learning styles did not exercise significant influence on their autonomous learning in the SAC. No generally significant correlation between learners’ learning styles and their proficiency levels as well as frequency of visits was observed. In addition, students’ gender, fields of study, and program choices did not identify with specific learning styles, either. Based on the results, pedagogical implications and suggestions for the institution are presented.
It is believed that self-access centers (SAC) serve as the best-known vehicle leading learners to autonomy by providing materials they can use on their own. Some studies investigated students’ perception, strategy use, and frequency of visit in relation to their autonomy development while few explored the potential influence of learners’ learning styles on their autonomous learning in SACs. The present study aims to suffice for the longitudinal observation of adult EFL learners’ autonomous learning in a CALL SAC and examine the extent to which learning styles correlate with their self-access learning, in terms of their program choices, frequency of visits, etc. Participants included 1,579 and 1,265 non-English-major freshmen from fall semester 2010 and spring semester 2011 respectively. They were required to fill in a ten-item online survey to assess the learning program they just used after each visit. At the end of each semester, they had to fill out a 23-item questionnaire to generally evaluate their learning in the SAC. Moreover, 440 students voluntarily took a 30-item learning style questionnaire at the end of spring semester 2011. Aside from quantitative data, qualitative data was also collected by interviewing 38 students and 32 students randomly selected by the SAC assistants from each semester. Findings showed that adult EFL learners held positive attitude towards acquiring English in the SAC, owing to its cozy environment, abundant resources, and feasibility of individualization. Participants also reported their improvements in listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, critical thinking, evaluation skills, and western culture enhancement. Among them, betterment of listening comprehension was the most cited language gain and watching movies with subtitles appeared to be the principle mode for most learners to polish their listening in a rather relaxing and entertaining way. The most frequently-used and favorite learning program selected by those SAC visitors was accordingly the multimedia resources. Later, Pearson correlation and Kruskal-Wallis test were applied to probe into the relationships between autonomous learning and learning styles. On the whole, college students’ learning styles did not exercise significant influence on their autonomous learning in the SAC. No generally significant correlation between learners’ learning styles and their proficiency levels as well as frequency of visits was observed. In addition, students’ gender, fields of study, and program choices did not identify with specific learning styles, either. Based on the results, pedagogical implications and suggestions for the institution are presented.
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自學中心, 自主學習, 學習風格, self-access center, autonomous learning, learning styles